© wikipedia
Delays on The Avignon to Carpetras Railway Line
Reopening will not happen in 2014...
Despite work on the actual rail tracks and stations being completed, the re-opening of the train line between Avignon and Carpetras will not take place before the end of the year.
Building works in Carpetras, where the new station was built from scratch, are on schedule to be completed by mid-December, along with other works along the route. However, the RFF (Réseaux Ferrés de France) who manage the track are delaying the re-opening for at least another 4 months. They are expected to explain the situation in more details at a press conference which is scheduled for the 9th October in Avignon.
Speculations on the reasons for the delay include a link between two rail disasters that occurred earlier this year in July. Collisions between TGV and TER trains were caused when cables were damaged by rodents. This prompted the RFF to check all signal control boxes across the country, some of which must be done manually and thus taking more time than expected. This then has a knock on effect for the new line as checks on current working rail service lines take priority over this 'out of service' line.
They are not expected to be able to complete these checks on the new line until at least March 2015, thus delaying the re-opening until possibly the end of April. We will keep you up to date with any further information we receive regarding the re-opening.
